Refrigerator



J.4 R. REPLOGLE REFRIGERATOR Filed May 21. 1921 A v vena/to@ if, moggmovement of the louter end of the lever 23,

means of a knife edge to the post 38. A lever 39 has one end pivotallyconnected to the post 38 by means of a knife edge and its free end fpivotally connected to the link 31. 'lfwo springs one of which is shownat 40 connect the outer ends of the levers 37 and 39 in such a mannerthat when the levers are moved in either direction past dead center7 thespiiiigs will cause them to move with a quick action to the limits oftheir movements. A latch 41 is provided with a'hook 42 which extendsthrough a slot 43 in the lever 37 and is adapted to limit the upwardmovement of' said lever. rlhe latch 41 is provided with a notch 44 whichis adapted to engage the lever 37 at the outer edge of the slot 43 whenthe levers 37 and 39 are at the lower limit of their movement. The notch44 is adapted to hold the lever 37 in lowered position until the lever39 is elevated to such a position that the extension 45 thereon engagesthe projection 46 on the latch and moves the same forwardly' against thetension of the spring 47, thus releasing the lever 37 and permitting thesprings 40 to snap the same upwardly to the limit of its movement.

In the operation of the device, when the thermostat rises above apredetermined temperature the pressure therein will increase due to theexpansion of the vapor therein and will cause an elongation of thebellows 16, which, in turn, will cause an upward with a correspondinglowering of the weighted lever-arm 28, thus lowering the link 31. Thelowering of the link 31 will carry the lever 39 downward past deadcenter and the springs 40-will snap the contact plate 34 in engagementwith' the conductor posts 32 and 33, thus closing the circuit andstarting the motor. n

Any suitable system of wiring may be y employed] As shown'diagrammatically in thel ligure, the `current may be traced through thehand switch 48, wire 49, conductor post 33,' Contact plate 34, post 32,wire 50 to one terminal ofthe motor 8, back'through the other terminalofthe motor and the wire 51 t the switch 48.

In refrigerators of the compression type, 'it is necessary to employ acooling fluid, usually water, to absorb and conduct away the heatof thecompressed refrigerant vapor in order to condense the same. Indevices'that are automatically controlled the compressor is operatedintermittently and hence .it is not necessary that the coolinguid run`con-' tinuously. It'is the usualpr'actice in such devices to o' eratethe water valve` by mechanism contro ed by pressure within thecondenser; the mechanism being'so arranged and weasel adjusted that thewater valve will not begin to open until after the motor starts and thecompressor has built up the pressure within the condenser to-apredetermined limit. In order to prevent the opening of the water valvein these pressure controlled devices and the consequent loss of' water,while the motor is at rest, it is necessary to set the pressure limit ata point slightly above the pressure corresponding to the environmenttemperature at the hottest season of the year; and since the compressoris not heat insulated, this limit is necessarily determined by thehighest probable room temperature. ln other words, in order to preventthe opening of the valve and the consequent loss of water while thecompressor is at rest, it-is necessary to set the pressure limit for thecontrol at a. point greatly in excess of what is necessary to condensethe refrigerant vapor at the temperature of the cooling fluid, and whenset at this high limit, it will, of course, be necessary for thecompressor to operate at all times against this high pressure which verymaterially decreases the efficiency of the apparatus as well .thestarting and stopping of the motor, the pressure against-which thecompressor must work would be only what is necessary to condense therefrigerant vapor at the temperature of the Water flowing through thecondenser, and since this would be much less than that under the abovesysteimin fact, only about one half as much,-it follows that thisarrangement ischeapcr to operate and much more efficient than deviceslhaving" pressure control. y

The above function is accomplished by the mechanism which will now bedescribed. .A

A pipe orl water conduit 52 is adapted to be connected to a water mainand tov one end of tlie condenser coil 11. A pipe 53 lis connected tothe other end of the condenser coil 11 for conducting the water to thesewer. A valve 54 is provided for controlling the flow of water through-the pipe 52. This valve is operated by a solenoid 55 against thetension of a spring 56. The solenoid is venergized through theconductors 57 and 58 which as shown are arranged in shunt with themotor, but may of course be connected in series with the same. When thecircuit is closed, the solenoid operates to open `the valveand when thecircuit is open the spring-56 closes the valve.

It sometimes happens that for one reason or another, the flow of wat/erthrough" the pipe 52 is wholly or partially interrupted and in whichevent the pressure `within the condenser would soon become excessive-unless some provision is made for stopping the motor.

One form of mechanism for accomplishing.

this functi'on will now be described. The pipe 52 is provided with anextension 59 which is connected to one end of a corrugatedlongitudinally extensible member or bellows 60. The opposite end of thebellows 60 is provided with a cap 61 which is pivotally connected to alink 62 which, in turn, is piv-v oted to a support as at 63. The innerend of the lever 62 is provided with an adjustable weight 64. The outerend of the lever 62 is pivotally connected to a link 65, the lower endof which is provided with a loop 66 through which passes the arm 28. Thearrangement is such that so long as the pressure in the pipe 52 andextension 59 does not fall below a predetermined minimum, the arm 28 hasfreedom of movement within the loop 66. When, however, the pressure inthe pipe 52 and extension 59 falls below a predetermined minimum theweight 64 will compress the bellows 60, thus elevating the link 65,which, in turn, will elevate the arm 28 and link 31 to open the circuitand stop the motor. By means of the adjustable Weights 30 and 64 thedevice may be set to open the switch at any suitable predeterminedpressure in the bellows.

As a further precaution, the compressorcondenser may be provided with apipe and safety valve 67 similar to that shown in patent to Bechtold &Mellows, No. 1,276,612, August 20, 1918. This valve will open byexcessive pressure and permit the of compressed refrigerant vapor backinto the low pressure side of the system.

It will be understood that various changes in the shape, size,proportions, details of construction, and arrangement of parts may bedischarge resorted to without departing from the scope and spirit of myinvention.; hence I do not wish to limit myself strictly to thestructureherein set forth, but

Vlfhat I claim is:

1. In an apparatus of the class described, a refrigerant system, alpassage for cooling water associated therewith, an electrically actuatedvalve in said passage, a motor for said system, an electric circuitconnecting both the motor and the valve with an electric current supply,a switch in said .circuit for opening and closin the same, fluidpressure actuated means mec ianically connected to said switch foroperating the same, and auxiliary means mechanically connected to saidswitch for opening it when the pressure in said water passage falls to apredetermined minimum, said auxiliary means operating independently ofsaid fluid pressure means to actuate said switch.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, a refrigerant system, alpassage for cooling water associated therewith, an electrically actuatedvalve in said passage, a motor for said system, an electric circuitconnecting both the motor and the valve with an electric current supply,a switch device in said circuit for opening and closing the electriccircuit and thereby controlling the valve and the motor, independentactuating means mechanically connected to said switch device andcomprising a fluid pressure device responsive to temperature changes andan auxiliary fluid pres- 1 sure device responsive to pressure changes inthe cooling water passage.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

- JOHN R. REPLOGLE.

